EXTRACTION

EXTRACTION The A-team are back together for a hard-edged action-thriller…

Chris Hemsworth and Joe Russo bring their A-game.

Script by Joe Russo. Starring Chris Hemsworth. Directed by Sam Hargrave, the second-unit director and stunt coordinator of the last two Avengers movies. Yep, Extraction will do very nicely now that Marvel’s heroes have completed their endgame.

“We were on Infinity War and I was talking about directing and what I wanted to do to make that leap,” says Hargrave. “And Joe said, ‘Hey, I wrote this script that I think will be perfect for you.’ I was very much attracted to the character and the story.”

That story, in true Avengers-style, is tightly under wraps for now, though we do know that Hemsworth plays Rake Tyler, a black-market mercenary who’s enlisted to break into a heavily guarded city (a heavily guarded house just doesn’t swing it anymore) to rescue the kidnapped son of an international crime lord. The film is set largely in India and Rake, at the start of the mission, is in a bleak place, harbouring a death wish that just makes him all the better at his job as he plunges headlong into danger.

“We reveal the depth of that darkness as we go on,” teases Hargrave. “It’s a late reveal as to what his motivations are. Joe said early on, ‘He’s physically extremely brave but emotionally a coward.’ The truth of that and the why comes out in the story.” Hargrave pauses, contemplating the differences between Extraction and the Marvel movies he worked on (to say nothing of Atomic Blonde and Deadpool 2). “I’d describe Extraction as an emotionally driven, actionpacked thriller. It’s a different spin on the action-drama. The focus is on the characters, and the action happens to be what they’re going through.”

Extraction is, he says, a film that’s more in line with the recognisable-stakes action-thrillers of the ’80s and ’90s than world-saving superhero movies. But that doesn’t mean the set-pieces are going to stint on eye-widening, breath-snatching excitement.

“It’s big, it’s violent,” he says. “We try to bring the viewer along for the experience. When the characters are tired and taking deep breaths, hopefully you as an audience member will be doing the same as you’re so invested in the story. We did try to push the envelope and think of new ways for an audience to experience something. There’s one sequence in there that they’ll be talking about for…” He catches himself, and laughs. “Well, at least a couple of hours after the movie!” JG

ETA 24 APRIL / EXTRACTION DROPS ON NETFLIX NEXT MONTH.

‘WE DID TRY TO PUSH THE ENVELOPE AND THINK OF NEW WAYS FOR AN AUDIENCE TO EXPERIENCE SOMETHING’

SAM HARGRAVE